Start of Something New
by AlmostNotReallyKawaii
Summary: After the war, Harry's just looking for a way to feel emotions again. So what if Draco Malfoy's being all creepily nice to him? Harry can play "being nice" too. Hopefully. Maybe. If it weren't for those damn magnetic grey eyes... Drarry, Confused!Harry, Cute!SlightlyOOC!Attached!Draco
1. Empty

Harry gathered up his Transfiguration things and stuffed them into his bag, sighing. Ever since he came back to Hogwarts, he had been miserable. It seemed unnatural; he'd never felt this way within the walls of the warm old castle. But a lot of things had changed. Much of Hogwarts was rebuilt, and some parts were a completely new design, courtesy of Hermione. Hogwarts had also added an "8th year" for students who missed their 7th year due to the war, or if they merely wanted to return to their 7th year in order to properly learn 7th year content.

The reason Harry felt so miserable was because he felt as though everything was moving on without him. Things had changed, and he knew that. He knew that Ron and Hermione finally realized their feelings for each other, which also mean they were practically never apart from each other. He knew that Ginny had found Blaise Zabini, and that they had hit it off, leaving Harry behind. He also knew that Draco and Pansy were falling apart, though he really didn't care. He just felt as though he was stuck in time while everything moved forward without him, leaving him behind.

He trudged between his classes each day. He really had no passion. There wasn't much future for him as an Auror, as much of the threat had dissipated after the war. Rules weren't exactly being broken. The only thing he had looked forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the new post-war teacher, Professor Janus Camelthorpe taught like Umbridge, without the utter hatred of Harry. In class they read the book, and occasionally, say, once a month, they would have a practical day, on which they would practice the spells they read up about all month long.

He felt empty. There wasn't much for him to look forward to, and all of his good times were memories of the past. The one thing Harry found solace in was flying. He had always trusted his Firebolt, but since he lost it in the war, he bought himself a shiny new Firebolt 2000 which flew better but felt worse. Though he missed his old Firebolt, he enjoyed the feel of the wind against his face, whether it was pleasant and warm, or sharp and cool.

Quidditch just wasn't the same. The house rivalry had decreased sharply after the war, though there was much resentment toward the Slytherins. But everyone tried to get along with one another. The number of inter-house friendships and relationships skyrocketed after the war. Everyone put aside their difference and made new friends. Everyone except Harry.

It wasn't that people didn't know about him, or want to become his friend. The media was still churning out post-war articles about the war, which heavily focused on Harry and his nonexistent post-war social life. It was more that most people just wanted to know Harry Potter, the Chosen One, rather than Harry, the awkward, silly, fun-loving, teenager who also sort of defeated the Dark Lord.

Leaving Transfiguration, Harry was lost in his muddled thoughts when he bumped into someone. He mumbled an apology and quickly walked forward, keeping an eye out for Ron and Hermione. Hearing footsteps behind him, he braced himself for some sort of a confrontation-something he surprisingly had not gone through in awhile. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned around.

"Hey there, er, Potter...How's it going?" a familiar voice asked. Harry looked up and met startlingly warm grey eyes. Draco Malfoy was sheepishly grinning at him.

* * *

Harry looked up, confused. Why would Malfoy want to talk to him? Harry had politely thanked his mother for her aid, and Draco politely thanked Harry for saving his arse. Other than that, they had mostly avoided each other after the war. Harry almost missed the petty arguments they would have. He almost wished they were back, a way to make his life more interesting than it currently…_wasn't_.

"Er…fine, I suppose," Harry replied nervously, unable to pull his eyes away from the magnetic grey ones.

"That's…I suppose that's good, then. Good for you," Malfoy replied, awkwardly. He slid his eyes away from Harry's surprised ones and looked away. He seemed to be forcing conversation.

"Er…yeah…thanks," said Harry, feeling very confused by the whole matter. _Why would Draco Malfoy want to talk to you?_ His mind repeatedly asked. Malfoy dropped his hand from Harry's shoulder and put it in his pocket, glancing around nervously. Harry had forgotten Malfoy's hand was there in the first place.

"D'you want to ask me something?" Harry finally gathered the guts to ask. The situation was getting really awkward, and he was positive he was getting late to Herbology.

"Erm, well, er…d'you suppose you'd want to walk to Herbology with me?" Malfoy asked uneasily. His face flushed a little. Harry was baffled. Malfoy was in his Herbology class? Since when? Well, Harry did mostly keep to himself these days, and hung out with Ron and Hermione whenever he could, feeling like a third wheel. But he was still surprised at Malfoy's request. _What's he playing at? What does he want? Why is he asking me to walk with him?_ Harry's brain refused to relent.

"…Yeah, I suppose," Harry responded, looking up to meet Malfoy's grey eyes. He saw a flash of something in his eyes before they settled back into that magnetic, warm, grey… Shaking his head, Harry turned around and started walking. Malfoy took a couple large steps and caught up with him. They walked in silence all the way to Herbology, but Harry didn't feel much awkwardness. In fact, he felt…nice. Something warm. Something almost unfamiliar, as he hadn't felt this way in a long time. The war had almost sapped Harry of his emotions, and Harry felt like he was finally taking a step towards getting them back.

When they reached greenhouse 8, newly constructed for the 8th years, Professor Sprout looked up at them, releasing her grip on the Venomous Tentacula she was reviewing with the class.

"Hello there, Harry-oh! And Mr. Malfoy. You're lucky you made it just in time. Well, seeing as you are the last two, pair up and grab some gloves from the bucket. Please Head to Station 12 and begin reading the instructions on the pamphlet I've provided there." Bewildered, Harry only registered one thing.

He was partnering up with Malfoy?


	2. Slightly Volatile

Harry kept sneaking furtive glances over at Malfoy, still trying to comprehend the situation he was in. Hermione kept shooting him curious looks, and Ron looked bewildered, which was not quite different from how Harry himself felt at the moment. Curious, confused, and most of all, bewildered.

Malfoy quietly did his share of the work, focusing wholly on their plant. Every time he thought Harry should do some of the work, he would shift the pot and the pamphlet towards Harry minutely before folding his arms over his chest, looking determinedly away, a faint pink flush spread across his cheeks. Thus they continued quietly, efficiently, and quite civilly until they had finished the project.

Professor Sprout looked over, and her face beamed with enjoyment. Bustling over to Harry and Malfoy, she gave a shout of delight and called out to the class, "Look everyone. Mister Potter and Mister Malfoy have finished their Venomous Tentacula, and it has been properly desensitized, trimmed, and neatly repotted. Excellent work, boys. You are free to leave the classrooms and return to the castle. The next pair who finishes will also be allowed this privilege. The rest of you will have to complete a rough sketch of the subdued Devil's Snare before you may go. Run along now, boys."

Feeling remotely pleases, Harry gathered up his schoolbooks and quickly left the greenhouses, wanting some time to himself to think things over. Needless to say, Harry didn't receive that peace and quiet due to a certain bold-haired git who seemed suddenly interested in Harry. Hearing increasingly loud footsteps behind him, Harry turned and saw Malfoy jogging up the hill. Harry tried to ignore him and kept walking, but Malfoy did not back down. Slowing to Harry's walking pace, he caught his breath for a few moments before he spoke.

"Hey, erm, good work in there...what are you going to use the free time for?" Malfoy asked innocently, but Harry was far from fooled. _What could Malfoy possibly want with_ me? he wondered._ And why is he being all polite? It's unnerving..._

His thought trailed off as he realized that Malfoy was awaiting an answer from him.

"Erm...I suppose I'll go hole up in the library and finish the essay for Slughorn before dinner," Harry replied offhandedly, hoping Draco wouldn't keep talking to him.

"Oh, that's where I was going to go too. D'you mind if I joined you?" Malfoy replied. Harry was now confused, irritated, and bewildered. He couldn't gather his mind up into a response so he nodded his head and walked faster, hoping that whatever diety was on his side would save him from an incredibly awkward conversation.

Arriving at the library, Harry picked a table near the back where fewer students were working. Setting down his bag, he pulled out his Potions book, a slightly crumpled bit of parchment, and his ink and quill and tried to get to work. Only there was a little niggle in the back of his mind constantly bothering him and begging for his attention-a niggle named Malfoy.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Malfoy sneaking glances at him with a strange expression on his face. Confused, Harry tried to ignore him and ploughed on with his essay. Every few minutes he would hear a pause in the scratching of quill on parchment, and he would feel a pair of eyes on his hair. After this had continued for an hour, Harry couldn't stand it any longer. He stopped writing, put down his quill, and looked up at Malfoy, who was innocuously scratching away on his parchment.

"What do want, Malfoy?" Harry spat out, feeling instantly ashamed at his bitter and annoyed tone. Malfoy's head shot up, and he looked at Harry in surprise for a moment before composing himself.

"Erm...what do you mean?" Draco asked, looking away from Harry as his cheeks flushed a light pink.

"I mean, why are you following me around and being nice to me all of a sudden?" even out loud the question sounded incredibly blunt and inconsiderate. But this was Malfoy he was talking about. Surely it didn't matter?

"I...I just thought that perhaps..." Draco fumbled over his words before he turned back to Harry with pained expression on his face. In a blink that expression was gone, replaced with the irritated smirk Harry was much more familiar with. "Of course you'd be irritated if someone was actually nice to you. Obviously The Chosen One has to have only his exclusive group of friends speak to him. Oh the horrors that would ensue if someone who just felt bad about their actions wanted to repay a debt they owed with kindness and maybe friendship."

Flabbergasted, Harry barely had time to open his mouth before Malfoy had shoved his parchment and textbook in his bag and stomped off.

Harry just sat there in the library for a while longer, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Was Malfoy actually _sorry_ for what he had done? Did he think that being undeniably polite and friendly and cute could just wash away everything he had done? Harry wasn't even quite sure if-

_Hang on,_ Harry thought to himself. _Backtrack. Did I just think of Malfoy as...cute?_

He waited for the wave of repulsion to wash over him, but it never did. Baffled, Harry looked around the library as if he could somehow find an answer to why or how he was feeling this way. _Wait_, he thought,_ what way?_

Feeling incredibly confused and slightly dazed, he decided to talk to the only person he could about teenagers and their strange ways.

* * *

He found Hermione in the common room, furiously scratching away at her Arithmancy essay with her books spread around her. Strangely, Ron was nowhere in sight. Hermione barely looked up as Harry sat down in the chair next to her.

"Ron's gone to the Quidditch field to practice some keeping. Isn't there a Quidditch match against Slytherin coming up or something like that? Anyways, he was totally determined to practice and abandoned me here with my Arithmancy essay. Not that he could have helped me much with that. So, Harry, what's going on?" Hermione had laid down her quill and now looked Harry straight in the eye. Harry had no idea how Hermione knew these things; she just seemed to have this intuition when Harry wanted to talk to her about anything.

Taking a deep breath, he began, "So, erm, you know how Sprout made Malfoy and me partners for Herbology?" Hermione nodded.

"He was acting kind of strangely before and after class. He was...being nice or something..." Harry trailed off and looked at Hermione, who had that knowing look in her eyes.

"Well, isn't that a good thing? I thought you always wanted Malfoy to just untwist his knickers and just be a normal bloke, instead of a prick."

"I know, but it was just...weird, you know? Like, after all these years we've been bickering, we've kind of just settled into this...mutual friendly-bickering thing and now all of a sudden he's just throwing years of that out the window and being all nice to me. Like 'Hey Potter, wanna work on essays together?' and 'Do you want to walk to Herbology together?' It was totally out of the blue. And then when I asked him why he was being all nice to me-"

"You asked him _why he was being _nice _to you_? Merlin, Harry. Leave it to you and Ron to be the most tactless boys in our dorm."

"Huh?"

"Come on, Harry? If he was actually pulling down this stupid bickering you have going on just to be nice to you, you have to give it some time before you tearing down all his walls. Just-hang on. Do you mind his being nice or would you actually consider being his friend?"

"I-I don't know. I have to think about it. Anyways, when I asked him, he gets all flustered and annoyed, and he totally returned to his classic smirk and mouthed me off about not talking to anyone but you guys. And then he marched off."

"Wait- he got flustered? Like how?"

"I dunno, he kinda turned pinkish and had this weird expression on his face before he started mouthing me off. I felt kinda bad afterwards, he was looking all sad and...lonely, or something..."

Hermione's knowing look intensified before she looked away for a moment, staring into space, deep in thought. Then she turned back to Harry.

"Harry, look at me. Do you want to be Draco Malfoy's friend or not?"

* * *

**(A/N): Hi guys! Sorry for the slow updates, but now it's summer so hopefully I'll be able to get some chapters done in all my unfinished stories (sorrysauce). This story was totally out of the blue. I think I wrote the first chapter along time ago, then found it and had to share it with you guys! I really like writing it because 8th year is my favorite Drarry story setting ^.^**

**Well, I hope those of you on break are having fun in your summer hols!**

**~Kawaii**


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